MISSING THE ARAB DENTIST
The Arab investment companies which were created in the late 1970s
and early 1980s are in a state of malaise. It is not just that their
performance has often been unsatisfactory, and is now more readily
questioned by anxious shareholders. The dramatic change in
investors' mood and in the investment environment is threatening
their existence.
With very few exceptions, the returns of Arab investment companies
have failed to match those available from most conservative investments.
Still less have they lived up to the extravagant pledges made in the
early days. "Arab investment companies have a real credibility
problem," said George Kardouche, general manager of United Gulf
Investment Company in London (the investment subsidiary of the
Bahrain-based and Kuwaiti-dominated United Gulf Bank). "Most of
those institutions do not have a track record long enough to enable a
safe judgement by the investor. Where there is one kind of a track
record...
